


Love is in the air, and also your drink because I spilled it on you

by BundleOfTeenAngst



Series: Love is in the air, and also your drink because I spilled it on you [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Angst, Annabeth's a prep/jock, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Percy's an emo, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-10-19 14:53:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17603438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BundleOfTeenAngst/pseuds/BundleOfTeenAngst
Summary: Annabeth laughed back, “He has a kazoo!? I mean, I could definitely tell that he was different but, like...Wow.”





	1. But mom, I want a fish!

**Author's Note:**

> So this is one of my favorite ships ever and it's one of the few times that I've shipped something this hard! Hope u enjoy! Shout out 2 I'mPanicingAtTheDisco 4 being my Beta! Ur the best! <3

Annabeth had a sneaking suspicion that the guy outside her dad's coffee shop was buying drugs. She had been cleaning off the last table for the day and was about to close up shop when she caught a glimpse of dark, shaggy hair. She squinted and whispered to herself, "Look at him, probably talking to a drug lord...such beady little eyes.."

Standing outside her shop window, there he was. In black, ripped jeans, an orange T-shirt, and a leather jacket. He had a blue skateboard under one arm and was talking very intensely. She hoped he wasn’t going to try and come in her shop but she also kinda wanted to know what he was saying. So trying to look as if she was just sweeping, she edged closer to the window that he stood outside of. But before she could listen, the dark haired boy started walking toward the door. The bell jingled above the door and she heard the thud of combat boots as he walked closer. She turned to see him holding a hand over his phone and he whispered, "Hey, it's okay if you can't, but do you think you could make me a caramel macchiato?"

Annabeth almost said no but she felt bad for the beady eyed degenerate, besides, she had ten minutes left on the clock. "Sure, can I get a name for the drink?" she said with an overly polite smile. 

His squinty beamed down at her, and she found herself frowning at his height. (To be fair, his eyes weren't really squinty or beady. They were actually deep pools of dark ocean green.) "But I'm the only person here." 

Annabeth shrugged, "Just the rules."

The boy shrugged back, "Ok, Wise Girl. My name's Percy."

As she began mixing up his drink, she heard him start talking on the phone again. "But moommm, you already said no to the puppy! All I want is a fish so that I can name him Bobbert. Pleasssse." He paused for a second as if listening to the other person speak. When his face dropped, Annabeth felt a strange twinge in her chest. He started speaking again but in a much more mellowed out voice. "No it's okay, mom. I understand, I'll see you soon, okay?" Percy hung up the phone and Annabeth handed him his drink. “Thanks, I really needed some caffeine.” Judging from how he had been tapping his foot and fidgeting the entire time he had been here, she really doubted it. Just before he walked out the door, Percy stopped and turned back around. “So, I know that you don’t really know me, but do you know where any flower shops are?” 

Annabeth squinted at him a bit confused and Percy continued, “yeah, I’ve been bugging my mom about getting a pet and I feel kinda bad so I wanna get her some nice flowers.” 

Annabeth thought she might melt. “Get control of yourself, woman. You’re not gonna go all gooey just because this very,  _ very _ handsome man is sweet and kind and keeps smiling at you!”

She quickly told him the name of closest flower shop and he smiled again, “Thanks again, you’re a lifesaver!” 

“No problem, My dad knows all the local shop owners and has their business cards to hand out. I’ll grab one for you so you can find it.” She grabbed the business card off of the counter for him. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize that he had stepped closer and when she turned around, she managed knock Percy’s drink out of his hand and it spilt all over him.

She quickly grabbed a roll of paper towels and started apologizing profusely. “I am so, so sorry-”

Percy laughed, “It’s alright, really! I have plenty other shirts to wear.” He smirked and Annabeth turned a deep shade of red. After Percy cleaned up as much as possible, he said, “thanks for the directions, and the uh, drink. It was amazing.” he smirked again and left. As Annabeth watched him saunter out, all she could think to say was, “I have  _ got _ to tell Rachel about this.”

Twenty minutes later, Annabeth was calling Rachel. The moment her best friend picked up the phone, Annabeth started talking. “Oksothere’sthiscutedegenerateandhesmirkesandhisnameisPercyandhehastheprettiesteyesandhewantsafishnamedBobbert.”

Rachel laughed,”Girl chill, I don’t even know what you just said! Slow down and tell me the whole story.” 

After Annabeth finished retelling the story, Rachel got kind of quiet, “Um, Annabeth? By any chance was he wearing a orange T-shirt?”

Annabeth paused, a bit confused, “Yeah, how did you know?”

Rachel sighed, “Because, I actually used to date him. About three years ago, right before I met you, I was in a relationship with Percy. Things were going really good, but then he just started shutting down. He just couldn’t seem to be able to talk about things, even when there was an issue that we needed to talk through. Don’t get me wrong, Percy’s a great guy...But he has some serious baggage.

Annabeth frowned and asked, “What kind of baggage? I mean, he seemed all smiles when we were talking today.”

Rachel paused and answered, “To be honest, I’m not sure. Like I said, he would never actually talk about things so I never found out. But the one thing that I did pick up on? He always used smiles to cope with things.Even if his best friend walked up to him and punched him in the face, Percy would just laugh it off.” 

“So, you’ve never seen him get angry? Like, ever?

“Nope. And we dated for six months.” Rachel giggled, ”Actually I once seen a cyclist spill an entire pizza on him and Percy  _ apologized _ .Then he went home and played the kazoo as if nothing had happened”

Annabeth laughed back, “He has a kazoo!? I mean, I could definitely tell that he was different but, like...Wow.”

After a few more minutes of talking, they finally said good night and hung up. Annabeth went to bed but found it hard to stay asleep because her stupid brain wouldn’t stop dreaming about Percy. “Brain, please for the love of gods, If you don’t just go to sleep, I will hit you with a stick. Besides, you’re probably never even going to see him again.” she muttered to herself. Little did she know how wrong she was.


	2. Marine Biology and extreme anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was Percy’s first day of college and he had to admit that he was a tiny bit nervous. He finished brushing his teeth with his Aquaman toothbrush and went to look at his outfit in the mirror. He was wearing his favorite pair of black skinny jeans and a MCR hoodie under his leather jacket. He took a deep breath and grabbed his headphones and skateboard. (which wasn’t always a good choice, as past crashes could tell you)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a little bit more of an angsty chapter but don't worry, the fluff and flirting should be back next time! <3

 

It was Percy’s first day of college and he had to admit that he was a tiny bit nervous. He finished brushing his teeth with his Aquaman toothbrush and went to look at his outfit in the mirror. He was wearing his favorite pair of black skinny jeans and a MCR hoodie under his leather jacket. He took a deep breath and grabbed his headphones and skateboard. (which wasn’t always a good choice, as past crashes could tell you)

Soon he was walking through door to his first class (which was english composition) and regretting all of his life choices. The walls of the room were covered with posters filled with long words that spilled off the page,  mading his head swim. 

All throughout the class, Percy kept zoning out. It wasn’t like he meant to, but he hated taking his ADHD meds because they made him feel weird and his dyslexia made it even harder to get any work done. It always seemed like he was trying so hard to concentrate that he lost track of what he was trying to concentrate on. 

He got through two more classes before he thought his head would explode into chunks of confusion and caffeine. Percy practically crawled into his last class.The only thing that kept him going was the fact that he was actually good at this class. He wasn’t sure why but marine biology had always just clicked with him. 

Maybe it was how cute the seals are, or maybe it  was how calming the water was. Whatever it was, marine biology was his favorite subject.

As he plopped down in a seat in the back, he caught a glimpse of a very familiar blonde head. It took Percy a moment to realize that it was the girl from the coffee shop last summer. She was walking toward a seat near the middle of the room when she tripped over someone’s bag on the floor. Percy’s first instinct was to go help her up but then he remembered: he didn’t actually know her. He put his head down and waited for class to start. 

It wasn’t long before the teacher started talking. “Hello class, my name is Mr. Brenner, but you can call me Chiron. Today we will be taking a little quiz to see what you may or may not already know. It isn’t graded so don’t stress, just try your best!”

The TA, who looked either vaguely dead inside or hungover, handed out the quizzes and they all started. Though it took a lot of concentration and a huge migraine, Percy finished and looked around only to discover that he was the first one done. He quietly walked to Chiron’s desk and handed him the paper. On his way back to his seat he noticed the blonde girl hunched over the quiz, writing as if her life depended on getting a perfect grade. Which was a little strange because no one else really seemed to care. After everyone had finished handing in their  papers, Chiron started the lecture. Even though Percy would have normally been completely enthralled by this kind of thing, he suddenly felt the all-too-familiar thudding in his chest. The large room began to feel smaller and smaller until he felt like he couldn’t breathe. Forgetting to even grab his bag, Percy jumped up and rushed outside, not really caring that the doors banged close loudly behind him. He started running until there were black spot in his vision and the crushing feeling in his chest finally left. He ran a hand through his dark hair and took in his surroundings. He seemed to be standing in a small grove of trees overlooking a pond on the outskirts of the campus. He sat down hard on the ground and propped his back against the tree trunk behind him. Percy stared at the scars on his hands and knuckles and felt the ones on his back through his shirt. He closed his eyes and murmured, “Who knew how hard it would be to stay happy all the time? Maybe I should’ve just stayed home to watch netflix and eat a burrito...”

“Oh, big mood.” A kid flopped down on the ground beside him and offered his hand. “Name’s Grover. Can I join in on the existential crisis session?” Percy glanced over at him, he looked pretty goatlike. He had a wispy goatee, and was holding a pair of crutches. When he seen Percy’s confusion at the crutches, he laughed and mock-whispered, “I’m the schools resident cripple- but don’t tell anyone.”

Percy couldn’t help but snort at Grover’s sarcasm. 

“Don’t worry, man. Your secret’s safe with me.”

Grover held out Percy’s bag and skateboard, “You left class in a hurry and I figured you didn’t want anyone else to get their hands on your stuff.” 

Percy gave a weak smile and thanked him. At first he was afraid that Grover would start asking questions, since he had clearly just seen his full mental break down. But Grover just acted as if he hadn’t seen anything and started talking about classes. They spent an hour laughing about how incredibly horrible the ending to Titanic was. And just when he thought being friends with Grover couldn’t get any better, he pulled two cold cans of espresso out of his bag. Percy’s heart sped at the sight of that caffeine infused liquid. It felt as if he was staring into the seductive eyes of a coffee bean. And man, was he in love. Grover tossed him a can and Percy felt like he was in heaven. 

As they exchanged numbers and began to leave for the day, Grover called over his shoulder, “Hey! There’s a party this weekend at my house, I’ll text you the address later! It’s gonna be the party of the year so you gotta be there!”

Percy smiled and for the first time, felt as if he might actually have a chance of making it through the year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing angst but this was very hard to so I hope u enjoyed! 
> 
> Remember 2 hydrate and stay weird! :(:


	3. Skate boards and Decapitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Rachel! If you’re gonna pretend that I’m a drunk fraternity girl, then at least act like there is a hot dude twerking all over me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeyyy so this is a bit of a shortish chapter but only because I'm setting it up for the next update

“Annabeth! Put your pants back on and pass me the weed!” 

Annabeth scowled at Rachel and put a hand over her phone speaker, “Stop that! I’m on the phone with my dad.”

However this only seemed to delight Rachel even more because she started yelling, “GOD, ANNABETH I KNOW YOU LIKE ALCOHOL BUT THIS IS TOO MU-” Rachel’s rant was interrupted by a memory foam pillow to the face. 

“Yeah, dad. I love you you too. Okay, bye.” As soon as she hung up, she whirled around with a look of betrayal. “Rachel! If you’re gonna pretend that I’m a drunk fraternity girl, then at least act like there is a hot dude twerking all over me.”  Rachel plopped on the floor in shock, “Oh my god, you’re right…”

Annabeth shot her a smug look, “Well, I usually am.” 

“So, you’ve survived your first day of college. See anyone bangable yet?” Rachel asked bluntly. Annabeth blushed.

“Rach! I am a single pringle and I plan to stay that way. Besides, other than you, I haven’t really seen anyone attractive on the whole campus.”

Rachel fluttered her lashes, “I had no idea that I was your type, Annabeth.But if you wanted me all you had to do was say-” She was interrupted yet again by a flying pillow. After recovering from Annabeth’s sneak attack, Rachel gave a sour look and muttered, “And to think I was gonna invite you to me and Grover’s party this weekend.”

At the word party, Annabeth’s ears seemed to perk up.

“Party? Can I come?”

“No.”

Why not.”

Because you hit me with a pillow and I think you ruined my beautiful nose!”

“But...I love you.”

Rachel crossed her arms and huffed, “So what? Why should I care?” Annabeth sighed, “Rach, I didn’t wanna use this card, but I am small. And tired. And I only have a quarter and three buttons to my name. So you can imagine my stress. Plus, my marine biology class is really hard! Usually this kinda thing is easy for me but I just don’t understand it!”

A tired groan came from the pile of clean laundry that Rachel had wormed her way under. “Fine. But only because you’re like the human embodiment of a vanilla candle, and you need a distraction” She sat up and a black bra went flying across the room. “Also, how is a class hard for  _ you _ of all people? You’re the smartest person I know.”

“Aww thanks, Rach. But I’m pretty sure that you’re smarter than me. And, you aren’t socially inept like me, so you’ve got that going for you.”

Rachel snorted, “That’s just what you think, Chase. But secretly, my soul withers everytime someone asks to hang out. Sometimes, there’s a small part of me that hopes I will catch a disease that prevents human interaction. Anyway, I’m sure that you’ll pass the class just fine, and if you can’t then we’ll get you a tutor.”

Annabeth smiled and pulled her best friend into a hug. Just as she was about to ask about Rachel’s love life (Which by the way, is a very dangerous thing to do), she caught a glimpse of the time on her clock and let out an alarmed yelp. “Crap! See ya later, Rach. I gotta get to swim practice!” 

Rachel smirked at her frazzled friend and waved bye as Annabeth rushed out of the room. As soon as the door clicked shut, she felt the crushing silence pressing down on her again. Shaking it off, Rachel grabbed her headphones and turned her favorite Halsey song on as loud as she could.

Four hours later, Annabeth had just finished getting dressed when her phone buzzed in her back pocket.

 

_ Supreme buttnugget Rach _

_ Yooo im getting takeout, u want some? _

                                                                                                Queen of the nerds

                                                               Umm do u even know me  

                                                                                                      of course i want some. 

 

_ Supreme buttnugget Rach _

Cool see u in 10

 

Annabeth smiled as she tucked her phone away. Rachel had been her best friend for a while now, and she was nothing else if not caring. She tried to hide it behind a facade of douchebaggery but she still always made sure that Annabeth was fed and passing her classes and not crying in her closet while eating a hot pocket.(Yes, that unfortunately happened before.) Rachel was basically like her second mom.

She was almost back to her dorm building when a familiar blue skateboard almost plowed into her cranium. The guy who owned said board swerved sharply to avoid decapitating the blonde and ended up falling hard on the pavement. 

Annabeth made sure that her skull was intact then made her way over to the delinquent in question. “Hey you fell kinda hard, are you all ri-” Annabeth stopped short when the guy turned and she seen his face.  _ The guy from the coffee shop? What was his name? Peter Johnson? _

Before she had time to process who was sitting in front of her, the dark haired boy said, “Yeah, all good here.” and gave her a crooked smile and winced as blood trickled down his lip. His smile grew when he realized who he had almost ran into. 

“Coffee shop girl? I can’t believe you go here too!”

Annabeth sighed and gave an awkward smile, “Yeah, what’re the odds, uh..”

The blue eyed emo stretched a tan hand out to her. “Name’s Percy Jackson. Ya know, I would normally be offended that someone doesn’t remember my name but since I almost just took your head off, I’ll let it slide.” Percy gave a mischievous wink to let her know that he was joking, and Annabeth resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She hated when guys acted so arrogant. But she shook his hand anyway.(Spoiler alert it’s because she just wanted to touch his hand)

“You might wanna be a little more careful on that thing, Jackson.” She nodded toward the board tucked under his arm. 

Percy rubbed his neck as if he was nervous, “Yeah, that’s what my mom tells me. But on the bright side, if I crash and die, then I won’t have to worry about passing my english class.”

His dry humor actually caused Annabeth to crack a smile. Maybe this guy wasn’t so bad after all?

“Well, see you in Marine Bio class, tomorrow, Blondie,” Percy smirked and skated off.

It was then that Annabeth realized that Percy was the guy in the big jacket that had finished his quiz before anyone else. She rocked on her heels for a minute before continuing her walk to the dorms. As she walked back, she muttered under her breath, “You cannot trip in front of Percy Jackson, ever again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo hope u liked it, i plan to start Annabeth and Percy's character's off as more pale timid version's of themselves and they will progress as the story continues. Let me know if u have any questions or if something doesn't make sense!
> 
> Remember 2 hydrate and stay weird! :(:


	4. Party Percy loves to twerk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two hours into the party, Percy was spider twerking while Rachel stuffed dollar bills in his pants and fed him nachos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeyyyyy so this is a pretty cool chapter I think, so i hope u like it 2!!!

 

Percy was asleep face down in a puddle of his own drool, when the teacher called his name. Someone beside him slapped his shoulder and he jerked awake, banging his knee on the bottom of his desk. Laughter rippled through the class, and Percy found himself wishing that he could disappear into his hoodie. The teacher glared. “Please, refrain from sleeping in my class, Mr. Jackson. Being one of the only people here who’s not hungover, does not give you permission to sleep while I’m teaching.” 

Percy nodded and slouched further into his seat. English class would’ve been hard enough without the teacher hating him. But for some reason, Ms. Dodds had taken a large disliking to him. Just the thought of going to class, now gave him mild panic attacks. Finally, after what felt like years, class was over and Percy bolted out the door as quickly as he could. 

His hands were shaking as he opened the door to his room and walked in. His roommate, a buff guy named Frank, was apparently still in class because the room was empty. Throwing his stuff on the floor, he sank onto his bed and closed his eyes. He let his mind wonder back to earlier that week when he’d ran into the blonde from the coffee shop. She had been cold and standoffish but he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about her. He wondered if she would be at Grover’s party. 

Turns out, he wouldn’t have to wait very long to find out, because his phone buzzed with a text from Grover.

 

_ Grover the goat kid _

_ Hey bro the party is gonna start in like  _

_ an hour, I need ur help setting up _

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Early 2k Emo Boy

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Ugh fine be there in 10

  
  
  
  


Percy ended up circling the building about seven times before texting Grover to double check that he had the right address. The building in question was a dorm but an actual house, right off of campus. Finally he rang the doorbell and the door swung open to reveal Grover in a tank top and basketball shorts. “Percy! Glad you’re here, man. C’mon in and meet my co-party planner.” 

As Grover led him inside, Percy asked, “So how can you even afford this place?”

“Ah, well, about that, this is actually my parents’ place but they happen to be in the Bahamas for the weekend so… Party time!”

Percy laughed and was about to ask another question when they arrived in the kitchen. And there beside the punch bowl, was his ex girlfriend. Rachel. 

They both froze when they made eye contact, like when a teenager sees someone from school at the store.

“H-hi, Rachel,” Percy stuttered out.

“Hey Percy…”

Grover frowned, “Do you two know each other?”

Percy refused to make eye contact with either of the people in the room, instead settling for nervously tapping his fingers on his leg.

“We used to.” Rachel murmured.

Sensing that Percy was on the verge of throwing himself into the nearest dumpster fire, Grover suggested that they get to work setting up for the party. The next thirty minutes were the most awkward of their lives. But once people started arriving, things began to feel a little less awkward. Unfortunately, both Rachel  _ and _ Percy seemed to forget that alcohol basically turned them into the horniest versions of themselves and eased any and all anxiety they had. Two hours into the party, Percy was spider twerking while Rachel stuffed dollar bills in his pants and fed him nachos. After they got bored of that, they wondered around the house until Percy somehow ended up perched on a plastic table, guarding the punch bowl with a set of barbeque tools as Rachel hugged a house plant. Percy had just thrown a metal spatula at a frat boy when Annabeth walked in. Rachel’s eyes got big and she latched onto Annabeth’s leg like a lonely koala. 

“Annabettthhh! Look who’s here!” The redhead pointed to where Percy was now hissing at a rather uncomfortable Grover.

In a mock whisper, Reagen slurred, “It’s Perccyyyy! I think I still love him.”

Annabeth gaped at her best friend, completely unsure of how to even begin to respond. Feeling lonely, Percy climbed off of his perch, and searched the crowd until her caught sight of Rachel’s bright hair. 

“Rachel!” he cried over the music, not even noticing Annabeth, “Why did you leave me? That mean goat man took my barbeque tools.”

Rachel gasped, “How dare he!?” She raced off to Percy’s aid, and Annabeth was left alone, watching her best friend and her best friend’s ex chase a very frightened boy on crutches.

Some time later, Percy sat with a bottle of something that he couldn’t pronounce, and watched as the purple flashing lights seem to move in slow motion. He felt a strange weight on his shoulder and turned to find Rachel leaning against him, sound asleep.  _ How did she get here? Didn’t we break up? Well, I guess it’s okay, I really missed her. _

Percy frowned when he noticed the girl shivering. Throwing his jacket over her, he watched as yet another couple left the party. People had been leaving bit by bit for awhile, and now the big room looked empty and sad. Percy didn’t remember much after that.

  
  
The next morning, Percy woke up to find quite a few things. First, Grover and the blonde girl from the coffee shop were passed out on the floor together next to a pile of jello shots. Second, his ex-girlfriend was curled up against him wrapped up in his jacket. And third, he was starting to vaguely remember the events of last nights party. 

Easing off the couch, Percy decided not to risk waking anyone and just left his jacket in Rachel’s clutches. Walking out the door, he realized that he was majorly hung over and that he was not gonna survive the walk home without throwing up.

Amidst his violent puking, he saw a very dazed Reagen stumbling out of Grover’s house with her friend in tow. Seeing no other choice, Percy forcefully threw himself behind a hedge and made awkward eye contact with a very confused jogger who was passing by. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo don't worry Percabeth is still endgame but Perachel is gonna have 2 work through some things first lol  
> hope u enjoyed reading, don't forget 2 comment and tell me what u think!
> 
> Remember 2 hydrate and stay weird! :(:


	5. Can I pet your dog?!?!?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After pulling her clothes on, she went to check on Rachel who had been hit with the hangover stick. Hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy so i hope u like it, it's a little angstier than normal and will continue to be for the next few chapters, sry lol but it will lead to fluff and happy cuddles so just hold out a little longer <3

Annabeth couldn’t seem to get the smell of green jello shots out of her hair no matter how many times she washed it. How the smell had ended up in her hair, she didn’t want to know. Giving her scalp one last scrub, she sighed in defeat and hopped out of the shower.  _ You’ve won this time, you dastardly jello. _

After pulling her clothes on, she went to check on Rachel who had been hit with the hangover stick. Hard. 

Rachel was curled into a cocoon of blankets and seemed very opposed to leaving any time soon. Annabeth smiled evilly, this was her chance. 

Grabbing the air horn that she’d somehow acquired the night before, Annabeth got within a foot of Rachel’s head before blowing the horn for a full thirty seconds.

Rachel sprang up, red hair flying, “Annabeth! Why would you do that !?”

“....Well..no reason in particular, to be honest. But since you’re up, you might wanna wake up and consider the consequences of what happened last night.”

Rachel laughed nervously, “Annabeth, what could I have possibly d-” she whipped around to Annabeth. “I made out with Percy. Why didn’t you stop me, Annabeth!? You know that I have to keep up the heart of stone reputation! ”

The blonde scowled, “I  _ tried _ , but Percy kept smacking me with barbeque tools and I almost lost a finger!

“..Oh.” Rachel sunk back down to her bed. Normally, her big smiles and personality made her seem as if she was six feet tall. But now she seemed so small.

Annabeth sighed, there was only one thing that could possibly pull Rachel out of her pit of humiliation and sadness.

  
  


After a two hour driver back and forth from her dad’s house, Annabeth walked back into her room with a big, clumsy, ball of brown fur. She had gotten some very strange looks as she walked the tibetan mastiff into the dorm but one growl from the beast and suddenly everyone seemed to find their shoes very interesting Rachel’s eyes lit up when she saw the dog. 

“Ms. O’Leary!” the dog jumped into her arms and began vigorously licking her face. Rachel giggled and tightly wrapped her arms around the fuzzy creature.

“Heart of stone my ass,” Annabeth snarked but Rachel didn’t even seem to notice. Annabeth didn’t mind though, seeing Rachel happy was the only thing that mattered. 

Pulling out her phone, she quickly snapped a picture of Rachel trying desperately to breathe through the mountain of fur covering her face. “Aaand post.”

That night, the two girls spent a good hour trying to write Percy a text that explained how Rachel had been completely drunk and hadn’t meant to kiss him. So far, it read, “Percy, I’m sry if i led u on by kissing u, i hope i didn’t make things worse between us. But if u ever wanna go chase someone with bbq tools then hmu :)”

Rachel took a big breath and hit send. “uHHgG Annnnnnaaabbbeethh, this is hard.”

“That’s what she said.” Annabeth snickered. Rachel’s scowl unwillingly turn to a grin.

Annabeth poked her on the arm, “Rach, it’s gonna be okay. Soon you won’t even remember Percy and you’ll move onto someone el-”

“That’s not it,” Rachel interrupted. Annabeth gave her a confused look but let her continue.

“I worry about him. And no it’s not because I still have feelings for him. But I do still care about him. He doesn’t function well when he’s alone. ”

The blonde frowned, She didn’t know why but Rachel had always seemed to have some sort of deep rooted anxiety when it came to even thinking about being alone.

“Well, it’s ok to care about him, but just remember that’s it’s not your responsibility to look out for him. He’s a big boy, I’m sure a can take care of himself.”

Rachel nodded but in agreement but didn’t look like she was so sure. 

  
  


The next morning, Annabeth woke to a strange tight feeling on her forehead. Rolling out of bed, she walked to the bathroom mirror and discovered that her older friend had stuck a pink sticky note to her face. Wincing, she peeled it off and squinted at Rachel’s chicken scratch handwriting. It read, “Yo nerd, I gotta craving for blueberry pancakes so I left early to go to waffle house. See u in class later….maybe. LOL”

Slipping on one of Rachel’s oversized hoodies, she grabbed Ms. O’Leary’s leash and clipped it onto the big dog’s leash, then grabbing a worn copy of the Great Gatsby, she left the dorm in search of food. She walked into the cafeteria and almost had to cover her ears from the noise. Everyone seemed to be crowded in the middle of the room and everyone was cheering and laughing. Pushing through to see what was happening, she found two guys circling each other. One, was a jock named Dante, who she’d seen making out with pretty much every cheerleader on campus. And the other, was Percy. 

Dante was smirking and the crowd was eating it up. Percy was shaking his head and Annabeth heard him say something about not wanting to hurt anyone, but Dante just ignored him. Percy looked completely concentrated until he saw Annabeth. The second their eyes locked, he froze and Dante, seizing his opportunity, struck him hard in the face.

Annabeth felt like her stomach dropped into her toes. She tried to push through the crowd to get to Percy, but there was too many people pushing together and she couldn’t get past. All she could do was watching as Percy gasped of the floor, trying to catch his breath. Dante sauntered forward and went to kick Percy in the face. But right before he made contact, Percy rolled to the side and sent an elbow into Dante’s side.

The jock yelped but tried covering it with a growl. “You’re dead Jackson.” 

Percy gave a wolfish smile that sent shivers down Annabeth’s spine. “Bring it Beefcake.”

After watching Percy beat Dante senseless for a solid ten minutes, Annabeth left feeling sick to the stomach. She decided to skip classes, which was something she never did, but she couldn’t think about about anything but how Percy had been completely different from the other times she’d met him.

She walked aimlessly until she found herself nearing one of her favorite coffee shops. The shop allowed animals and Annabeth and Ms. O’Leary were both starving so she decided to grab some food. 

Once she had settled into her favorite big, red chair beside the window, she took a sip of her coffee and and gave Ms. O’Leary a dog biscuit. She had just just opened her book when she heard a thump on the window, like a bird had ran into a windshield. Annabeth looked up and nearly jumped out of her skin. 

Standing outside was Percy Jackson. You have got to be kidding me. 

His lip was busted and he had a ragged cut along his jaw, but other than that he looked fine. Though, it was a little hard to tell on account of Percy smashing his face against the glass while looking at the fluffy dog at Annabeth’s feet.

Percy waved awkwardly with an excited smile, “Can I pet your dog!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo i rly liked this chapter, and i hope u enjoyed it too! Sry that i haven't updated in a hot minute, school is killing me rn lol updates should be more regular from now on... hopefully  
> Also if something doesn't make sense, then feel free to let me know in the comments!
> 
> Remember to hydrate and stay weird! :(:


	6. Raging herpes make good blackmail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Percy. If you get into another fight, I swear, I will tell Rachel that you having a raging case of Herpes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sup guys! i know its been a while and im so sorry, ive been digging myself outta cave of depression. So enjoy the chapter and tell me what u think in the comments!

Percy had never been happier in his life. He was sitting on the floor of his favorite coffee shop, petting the fluffiest dog he’d ever seen. According to the Annabeth, the dog’s name was Ms. O’Leary. The friendly dog was so excited that she jumped into Percy’s lap and plopped down. He winced as the dog brushed against his bruised (possibly broken) ribs.

Annabeth noticed and kindly tugged the dog off Percy’s lap and back onto the floor with a slightly pitying smile. Percy felt a strange tugging in his chest, as if his heart couldn’t physically take Annabeth smiling at him. He began mentally beating himself with a stick.  _ No! You cannot have a crush on Annabeth, you like Rachel. Besides, she probably doesn’t even like you like that. _

Percy had been so deep in thought that he hadn’t noticed when Annabeth asked him a question. He only realized that he’d missed something when Annabeth raised a brow and smirked. 

“Sorry? Did you say something?”

“Just that I think my dog likes you more than she likes me.”

“Well, she must have very bad taste if she picks me over you.”Percy joked wryly.

Annabeth couldn’t help but smile a little. Percy went back to petting Ms. O’Leary until he noticed Annabeth staring at him quizzically.

“What?” he asked.

Annabeth paused for a moment as if considering if she should really say what she was thinking, then continued. “Why were you fighting that guy? I heard that you never even get angry but now you’re beating someone half to death. So, why?”

Percy’s face turned sullen and taunt as if the question had sucked all the happiness out of him. “...At first I wasn’t really sure. He bumped into me and tried to make  _ me _ apologize for it. And, to be honest, I didn’t really care. He’s just a dumb jock. But.. then he-” Percy stopped and gritted his teeth as if it hurt to even say the words. “He started telling me about all the girls that he’s hurt and  _ used _ and how he was going to the same thing to whoever I was dating. I don’t know, I guess I just snapped. Not exactly my proudest moment.”

“Well it should be.”

Percy looked up and gaped at her, “But, I almost killed-”

“I don’t care.” Annabeth stated. “A guy like that deserves to get a taste of his own medicine.”

Percy gave a ghost of a smile, “Thanks, Wise Girl.”

That got a real laugh out of Annabeth. “Why do you keep calling me that?”

Percy shrugged, “I guess because the second I met you, I could tell that you were a smarty pants nerd. Plus I thought it would be ironic considering that you’re a blonde, he snarked. That earned him a smack on the arm.

“Go screw yourself, Jackson” Annabeth glowered playfully, knowing that he had just been joking.

Percy couldn’t believe himself when he stood up and leaned down with one arm against Annabeth’s chair. “I’d rather have a partner, Blondie.”

Percy heard Annabeth audibly gulp before cracking a smile, “Just kidding, Wise Girl.”

Annabeth scowled, “Jerk,” she huffed. “As payment for that incredibly rude stunt you just pulled, you’re gonna help me find a tutor for marine biology.” Grabbing Percy’s hand she dragged him over to a cork board at the back of the cafe. It was covered in posters of missing animals and tutor numbers. Squinting, Annabeth studied all the choices. “Which one do you think I should pick, Jackson?”

Percy inspected the board carefully, “Um, well don’t pick that one,” he said pointing to one of the papers with a conspicuous stain on it. “He’s kinda a perv.”

“...Ok, uh what about the one with the frog picture on it?”

Percy’s eyes went wide and he shook his head aggressively, “No no no definitely not. He- well, he likes… elbows.”

“Ok that’s disgusting but I actually know the rest of these people and none of them know what they’re doing. So what am I gonna do, I can’t fail this class but I also don’t wanna get tutored by someone with an elbow fetish!”

Percy let out a laugh but laid a comforting hand on Annabeth’s shoulder, “Annabeth, it’s ok! How about I just tutor you? That way you can get a better grade and i can spend some time with someone who’s not Grover. He’s cool but if I have to spend one more second with him and his weird taste buds, I might lose my mind.”

  
  


“Uh, Annabeth, you’ve had about five coffees in an hour, how are you not having a heart attack?”

Annabeth smirked, “You clearly know nothing of the dark side, my young Padawan.” Then she continued to sip her drink greedily. They had been studying together for a week and while Annabeth still didn’t understand much, her grade had improved. 

Annabeth found it odd, how fast they were becoming friends. Just a few days ago, being around Percy would have irritated her, but now they were plopped under a shady tree with snacks and homework sprawled around them. 

Suddenly Percy turned to her with a thoughtful expression. “You helped Rachel write that text the other night, didn’t you?!”

Annabeth gave a mock gasp, “How dare you! I would never do such a thing, my good Sir!” Percy rolled his eyes when Annabeth cackled evilly.

“Seriously though, Percy how did you know?”

“Because the text used the letter U instead of spelling Y-O-U. And Rachel never does that. Like, ever.”

It was Annabeth’s turn to roll her eyes, “Of course she doesn’t, I swear that girl is addicted to perfection. No wonder you were in love with her-”she stopped short when she realized what she’d just said.

“Percy, I’m so sorry-”

Percy chuckled, “Annabeth, it’s fine. You’re allowed to talk about Rachel around me, it’s not a crime.” 

Annabeth wanted to believe him, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes and had began nervously tapping on his leg. Annabeth had noticed how how he usually did that when he was uncomfortable. So she changed the subject.

“So, there’s this bonfire thing this weekend- parties aren’t usually my scene but it’s just a bunch of my friends hanging out-” she gave a nonchalant shrug, “Anyway, I was wondering if you wanna come?”

“Well, Grover is going on a trip with his girlfriend this weekend and you’re my only other friend so… yeah I’ll come.” 

Annabeth grinned, “Cool! I needed someone to go with, so this really worked out. Plus, my friends always seem to have a really hard time getting the fire started so maybe you can help ‘em out.”

“Sure, I’ve been told that I’m really good with my fingers.” Percy seemed to realize the innuendo he’d just made and he couldn’t stop blushing. 

Luckily Annabeth didn’t even seem to notice, instead, she was staring intently at his stomach where his shirt had ridden up. Realizing what she was looking at, Percy tried to hurriedly pull his shirt down, but Annabeth caught his hand. 

With a dangerously low voice, she said, “Percy. Who. Did. This.” 

When he didn’t answer, she grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up to reveal mottled bruises covering his stomach, sides, and chest. There was one particularly nasty looking cut along his side that he seemed to have attempted to sew shut himself.

Seeing how furious Annabeth was, Percy grasped her hand, “I’m fine, Blondie, you should see the other guy” he joked, trying to lift the mood.It didn’t work.

“I deserved it this time, Annabeth. It was my own fault.”

She shook her head, “It doesn’t matter if you started it or not Percy. You can’t keep fighting like this! It’s going to end up killing you one day.”

“Maybe that’s the goal.” he said, half joking, half not.

“Percy. If you get into another fight, I swear, I will tell Rachel that you having a raging case of Herpes.”

Percy paled, “W-what !? But that’s not true! There’s literally no possible way for that to be true! I don’t  even hook up with people!”

Annabeth leaned in close, until her lips almost touched Percy’s ear and whispered threateningly, “But Rachel doesn’t know that.”

It was then that Percy decided two things, first, he was going to avoid getting into any more fights for a while. And second, he never wanted Annabeth to be mad at him, because she would probably tell people that he was a pool of STD’s and had foot fungus or something.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy guys i hope u liked the chapter! my beta is kinda preoccupied rn so if there are mistakes im sorry! Remember 2 leave kudos and comments and i love u <3
> 
> Remember 2 hydrate and stay weird! :(:


End file.
